FOOD STUFF

FOOD STUFF; Something New, Something Blue

By Florence Fabricant

Published: January 23, 2002

Blue velvet cake looks disconcerting, like something in a David Lynch movie. But those neon layers iced with creamy chocolate are only the first thing to catch your eye at Angelina's, on the Lower East Side at 188 Orchard Street (Houston Street). The shop offers a good selection of breads and other baked goods, olive oil, pasta and sandwiches, in a neighborhood where you're more likely to find Chinese duck than imported tuna. That cake is a riff on the classic red velvet cake, said Angela Trento (near right with her partner, Megan Cariola). This variation, based on a recipe from Ms. Trento's grandmother, Angelina, is blue. A nine-inch cake -- sold on weekends and Wednesdays -- is $20, or $2.50 a slice.